Sticking to His Guns / Deputy D.A. who tries cases of juveniles

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, July 21, 1998

1998-07-21 04:00:00 PDT CONTRA COSTA -- He admits it sounds corny, but Contra Costa Deputy District Attorney Hal Jewett says he is a true believer in such venerable concepts as freedom, truth and personal responsibility.

Such idealism isn't unusual in a prosecutor. But for Jewett, who heads his office's juvenile unit, his deeply held convictions have brought controversy in brutal crimes with very young defendants.

Two years after he unsuccessfully sought to prosecute a 6-year- old for attempted murder, Jewett is back in the news as he prepares to try an 11-year-old Antioch boy this week on murder charges for deliberately shooting to death a neighbor's son.

But even as he is confronted with cases that pose thorny questions about when a child should be considered a criminal, Jewett believes more than ever in his work as a prosecutor.

"Embossed in brass and buried in brick on the steps of both (Martinez) courthouses are three words: 'Truth, Liberty and Toleration,' " Jewett said after grudgingly agreeing to repeated requests for an interview. "I do hold to my heart all three of these ideals. I get some enjoyment out of fighting the good fight and wearing the white hat."

His friends and foes agree that Jewett is a fierce advocate and a tough courtroom fighter. But some critics wonder if his prosecutorial zeal is misguided in juvenile court.

"In my own mind, I wonder if he doesn't get it in terms of the social context of these cases," said noted criminal defense attorney John Burris, who represented the 6-year-old Richmond boy who attacked 1-month-old Ignacio Bermudez in April 1996, leaving the infant with permanent brain damage.

"I still don't know if he gives legitimacy to other perspectives," Burris added. "He's a true believer without really understanding the social context."

Last month, Jewett made headlines when he referred to the young Antioch defendant, accused of sighting and firing a single shot from his father's deer rifle at 13-year-old Larry Kiepert, as a "sniper" in arguing that the boy should remain in custody.

That Jewett, a soberly dressed, tall man with reddish- brown hair and a confident manner, would use such emotionally charged language to keep a preteen suspect in Juvenile Hall is not a surprise to anyone who has worked with or against the determined prosecutor.

"I think Hal calls them as he sees them; he doesn't view his job as an exercise in diplomacy," said Contra Costa Deputy Larry Barnes, who has known Jewett for 15 years and calls him a "top-rank trial lawyer." "And I think he sees a very strong moral underpinning to the work of a prosecutor."

That morality is most evident in the extreme cases. At sentencing for Michael Pearson, a Richmond man convicted of murdering two co-workers in 1995, Jewett darkly told the court, "What is rotten at the core is evil at the heart and soul of Mr. Pearson," before Pearson was condemned to death row.

"In murder cases you will find me talking about good and evil," Jewett said as he explained his personal and professional philosophy. "The contrast in those cases is usually quite stark. But in a lot of these cases, whether they are homicides or drug cases, there usually is a moral ingredient that does tend to pull at the social fabric that binds us all."

After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley and receiving his law degree from the University of Santa Clara, Jewett joined the Contra Costa district attorney's office in 1982.

Ultimately, he handled major murder cases and became a trusted deputy, reviewing felony cases in Richmond and acting as the liaison for the county's criminal grand jury.

Along the way, he has earned the nickname "The Contrarian" around the office for his aggressive self-confidence and independence.

In January 1996, Jewett was named head of the office's juvenile division. Four months later he was embroiled in a sensational case when he filed attempted murder charges against Burris' 6-year-old client, identified as Brandon.

Attempting to keep Brandon in custody, Jewett told a juvenile court judge the boy had confessed and said "he had to kill the baby" because the infant's family had been harassing him.

Jewett's comments provoked fierce debate in legal circles on whether a 6-year-old can possess the required criminal intent. But Jewett never backed down even as a judge reduced the attempted murder charge to assault, then eventually ruled the boy was not competent to stand trial.

DETERMINED PROSECUTOR

After battling Jewett in court, Burris said he was impressed by the prosecutor's determination. But he was also shocked at what he saw as Jewett's attempts to demonize a child.

"I was embarrassed for him as an adult human being," the attorney added.

And when Burris heard that Jewett had filed murder charges against the Antioch boy, "I thought to myself, 'It's deja vu all over again.' "

Burris echoed a common sentiment among defense attorneys who have faced Jewett in court: He's a "loose cannon" out of touch with modern realities and unable or unwilling to see that he's prosecuting children.

"I'm still dismayed by his conduct and his attitude in the (Bermudez) case," Burris said. To him, a crime is a crime is a crime, and that's a very limited perspective."

CHARGING BY THE BOOK

But Jewett makes no apologies for his charging decisions in juvenile cases.

"The approach we take is dictated by what the statutes say," he noted. "But in none of these cases, even the ones that received a lot of attention, have we ever contemplated treating them as adults. The focus remains on rehabilitation and the effort to turn these kids around."

Jewett estimates that since 1996, when he assumed his role as chief juvenile deputy, he has reviewed some 3,000 cases. He said it is unfair or inaccurate to judge him by only the two controversial cases that have made him the focus of national media attention.

"A lot of these cases I file as felonies, a lot I file as misdemeanors," he said. "Some I don't file charges at all. But it's certainly clear to me that we are facing a greater number and a higher level of severity in juvenile cases than we were 10 years ago."

And Jewett rejects any suggestion that he is too quick to judge the merits of a case or brand a young defendant as a killer.

"I'm not making a character judgment in these cases," he said. "But I do believe in the public's right to know."

COMMUNITY ANGRY

But Jewett's statements have roiled the Antioch community, especially his "sniper" comment.

"There's been a lot of outrage about that," said the Rev. Vince Cotter of St. Ignatius Catholic Church, who has been counseling the families of both the victim and the defendant.

Cotter said he recently wrote a letter to Contra Costa District Attorney Gary Yancey and Jewett's supervisor, prosecutor Bob Kochly, expressing surprise that an 11-year-old would be charged with murder.

"No doubt it is prolonging this whole tragedy," Cotter said. "I question the timing of this as well. If this had happened 30 years ago, would it have been treated the same way?"

Because of the sensitive nature of the case against the 11- year-old, scheduled to go to trial on Thursday, the boy's attorney, Bill Gagen, declined to comment, saying, "I don't want to see the focus of this case shift to the personalities of the lawyers."

Likewise, attorneys in the Contra Costa public defender's office also declined to comment on the controversial prosecutor, but Jewett insists he has developed good professional and personal friendships there.

In his time off, Jewett, who has three children, enjoys fishing, building houses and listening to rock 'n' roll music. He has a healthy respect for the media but disdains the limelight.

"Jewett doesn't give a s-- for publicity," Barnes said. "But he has such confidence in his judgment, he'll never run from controversy. He'll never back down. He calls them as he sees them, and damn the torpedoes."

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